That Ten Commandments Statue Isn’t Going Anywhere Fast

A five-foot-tall statue of the Ten Commandments at the entrance of a Florida county courthouse will remain there for the foreseeable future.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit on Wednesday delivered a blow to a 2007 lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union that seeks the removal of the statue. The ACLU, which represents a man identified in court papers only as John Doe, says the granite statue outside the Dixie County courthouse violates the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause.

A lower court agreed and ordered the statue removed in July of last year. The 11th Circuit, however, ruled that U.S. District Judge Maurice Paul failed to consider conflicting evidence that bears on whether the ACLU’s client has standing to sue.

In a deposition, he testified that the statue was one of several reasons he decided not to buy property in the county. . .

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com.